Delivering cap for aerosol dispensers



March 31, 1970 R. TORRETTA DELIVERING CAP FOR AEROSOL DISPENSERS Filed Dec. 5, 1967 INVENTOR BioBE/ifp 7 /91 T7 A %*M ATT RNEYS United States Patent Oflice 3,503,559 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 3,503,559 DELIVERING CAP FOR AEROSOL DISPENSERS Roberto Torretta, Milan, Italy, assignor to Coster Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A., Milan, Italy Filed Dec. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 688,209 Claims priority, application Italy, Dec. 22, 1966, 31,412/66 Int. Cl. B05b 7/32, 1/30; F23q N02 US. Cl. 239-573 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a delivering cap for aerosol dispensers provided with a stem discharge valve.

As known, when delivering an aerosol material, said material is more largely and rationally utilized the more it is atomized, that is, the smaller the particle sizes of the material being ejected from the dispenser.

To attain such an object, according to known techniques use is made of mechanical atomizing devices and means wherein the atomization (that is, the ejection of the material in the form of fine particles from the dispenser) occurs by sudden expansion of the material issuing from the dispenser.

In expansion devices, the more the atomization effectiveness the larger is the number of subsequent expansions the material issuing from the aerosol dispenser is caused to undergo prior to being admitted into the atmosphere.

Known atomization devices, comprising only two connected parts, are of such structure that at the most the material issuing from the dispenser is allowed to be subjected to three subsequent expansions, one of which is generally obtained within an expansion chamber, as defined between the material delivering cap and the dispenser valve stem onto which said cap is mounted.

Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a delivering cap for aerosol dispensers which is of an extremely simple construction and thus low production cost, and more particularly, which is comprised of only two separate interconnected members, and allowing the material being delivered from the dispenser to be subjected to at least four subsequent expansions, three of which occurring within said delivering cap, so as to assure a correct atomization for the delivered material.

The above and other objects are attained by a de1ivering cap for aerosol dispensers provided with a stem dis charge valve, characterized by comprising a main body or member, wherein a space or chamber is formed and defined by a side surface and a bottom wall, and a secondary body or member accommodated in said chamber and having an inner cavity, the main body or member being provided with fastening means on the stem of said valve, in that the main and secondary members define at least two chambers therebetween, in that at least one hole is formed in the main member at one of said chambers in the main member area intended to be adjacent the discharge nozzle of a valve onto which the cap is mounted, in that at least one hole is formed in said secondary member for connecting said cavity with the atmosphere, in that each of said chambers communicates with a chamber adjacent thereto, and in that one of said chambers communicates with said cavity through at least one channel.

In order that the structure of the delivering cap and the features thereof be more clearly understood, some embodiments thereof will now be shown by mere way of nonrestrictive example, such embodiments being referred to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section of an embodiment for the delivering cap mounted onto the stem valve of an aerosol dispenser; and

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are also cross-sections for different modified embodiments of the delivering cap.

Particularly referring to FIG. 1, it will be seen that the delivering cap 1 therein shown is pressure mounted on the stem 2 of a known type valve 3 (and therefore not shown in detail) which is mounted on a vessel 4 containing a material dispensable as aerosol.

As seen from the figure, said delivering cap '1 is formed of only two parts, and more particularly a primary body or member 5 and a secondary member 6; within the primary member there is formed a space or chamber defined by a side surface and a bottom wall, and the secondary member 6 is just inserted and accommodated in said space or chamber.

Said primary member 5 includes fastening means on stem 2 of valve 3, said fastening means being formed of a tubular wall 7 in which said stem 2 can be forcibly inserted.

As clearly seen from the figure, the cross-section for the space or chamber in the primary member 5 is more reduced adjacent the bottom wall of said space or chamber than at the intermediate and front areas; in turn, the outer cross-section of the secondary member 6 is smaller at its end inserted in the space or chamber of member 5 than at the other end thereof.

An annular shaped chamber 8 is defined between the side surface of the space in member 5 and the outer surface of member 6, whilst another chamber, designated by reference numeral 9 between the bottom wall of said space in member 5 and the end of member 6 adjacent thereto.

A spoke 10, partly penetrating a cavity 11 in the secondary member 6, projects from the bottom wall of said space in member 5, said cavity 11 communicating with the atmosphere through a hole 12.

A hole 13 is provided in member 5 at the outflow hole of stem 2, said hole 13 establishing a communication between said chamber 8 and the cavity of said stem 2; in turn, chamber 8 communicates with chamber 9 through a channel 14 in member 5.

Chamber 9 communicates in turn with chamber 11 through a channel 15 in the inner surface of member wall 6.

Member 6 is so forced on member as to form a sealing therewith at all the contact locations, with the exception therefore of the areas corresponding to chambers 8 and 9 and channels 14 and 15.

Let it now be assumedthat vessel 4 is filled with a material dispensable as aerosol and the delivering cap 1 is mounted on the end of stem 2 of valve 3, so that by downwardly pressing said cap 1, the lowering of stem 2 will cause the opening of said valve 3 and thus the issuing from vessel 4 of the material therein contained.

Thus, by downward pressing said cap 1, the material will issue from said vessel 4 through the cavity of stem 2 and pass through hole 13 of member 5 to undergo a first expansion within the annular chamber 8; from said chamber 8 the material will pass through channel 14 to reach chamber 9, wherein it will undergo a further expansion and penetrate therefrom via channel 15 the cavity 11 of member 6, wherein it will undergo a third expansion to finally pass through hole 12 and be delivered into the atmosphere undergoing a fourth and final expansion.

The sequence of four expansions the material delivered from vessel 4 is subjected to cause said material to undergo an extremely high atomization allowing a more rational use and exploitation thereof. In the embodiment described, member 6 is merely forced into the space of member 5 and steadily retained therein by simple friction.

The dimensions and shape of members 5 and 6 may be provided in various manners depending on the nature of the material in vessel 4 and dispensable as aerosol; thus it is apparent that on cap manufacturing it is possible to cause chambers 8 and 9, cavity 11, channels 14 and 15 and holes 12 and 13 to take up the most suitable dimensions enabling to have the desired degree of atomization and flow of material being delivered in time unit.

It is apparent from the above description and the drawings that the primary member 5 includes a stem-receiving bore formed by the tubular wall 7, and the axis of this stern-receiving bore extends perpendicularly with respect to the axis of the elongated hollow space which is formed in the primary member 5 and which receives thesecondary member 6, the opening 13 being coaxial with this stemreceiving bore which receives the stem 2 of the valve 3. The stepped exterior surface of the secondary member 6 defines with the interior surface of the elongated hollow space in the primary member 5 the annular chamber 8 which is the first expansion chamber and which communicates with the opening 13 which is of a relatively small area as compared with the volume of the chamber 8. The annular chamber 9 which is coaxial with the annular chamber 8 is defined between the inner ends of the secondary member 6 and the hollow space of primary member 5 which receives the member 6, and the channel 14 which provides communication between the expansion chambers 8 and 9 is also of an extremely small crosssection as compared to the volumes of the chambers 8 and 9. It will be noted that the chamber 9 is situated at the side of the stem-receiving bore of primary member 5 which is opposite to that side thereof where the discharge hole 12 is located. In other words the elongated hollow space of the primary member 5 extends across and beyond the stem-receiving bore which receives the stem 2. In this way use is made of the regions of the primary member 5 which extend to both sides of the stem 2. The third expansion chamber is formed by the cavity 11, and the channel 15 which provides communication between the second chamber 9 and the third chamber 11 is also of a small cross-section as compared with the volumes of the chambers 9 and 11. Finally, the hole 12 is of a small size as compared with the volumes of the chamber 11 and the final expansion chamber formed by the outer atmosphere. It will also be noted that the channel 14 which provides communication between the first and second chambers 8 and 9 is situated at that side of projection which is diametrically opposed to the side where the channel 15 is located. Thus, the fluid which expands in the chamber 8 and then flows through the channel 14 into the chamber 9 must flow around in the chamber 9 to the side thereof opposite from the channel 14 in order to flow through the channel 15 into the third expansion chamber 11.

It is apparent that many changes can be made to the above described delivering cap, while remaining within the scope of the invention.

For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, in which for simplicity the same reference numerals as those of FIG. 1 have been used, chambers 8 and 9 are interconnected through a channel 16 in the side surface of the space in member 5, whilst chamber 9 and cavity 11 mutually communicate through a channel 17 on the outer surface of spoke 10.

Similarly, in the embodiment of FIG. 3 chambers 8 and 9 mutually communicate through a channel 18 on the outer surface of member 6, whilst chamber 9 communicates with cavity 11 via a channel 19 on the inner surface of said member 6.

Likewise, chambers 8 and 9 in FIG. 4 communicate via a channel 20 on the outer surface of member 6, whilst chamber 9 communicates with cavity 11 via a channel 21 on the outer surface of spoke 10.

It is apparent that the abovementioned holes and channels, rather than being each formed of only one hole or only one channel, may each be formed of a plurality of holes or channels having suitable transverse dimensions.

What I claim is:

1. A delivery cap for aerosol dispensers having a stem discharge valve, comprising a primary member formed at a lower region thereof with a stem-receiving bore which receives the stem of the discharge valve, said primary member being formed over said bore thereof with an elongated hollow space having an open outer end and a closed inner end and extending perpendicularly across and to both sides of said stem-receiving bore, the said primary member having a central projection extending from said inner end thereof toward said outer end thereof, and a secondary member received in said space of said primary member and closing said outer open end thereof, said secondary member having opposed ends and between the latter ends an exterior surface which defines with an interior surface of said primary member a first expansion chamber, said primary member being formed between said stem-receiving bore thereof and said first expansion chamber with an opening providing communication between the interior of a hollow stem received in said stemreceiving bore and said first expansion chamber, said inner end of said hollow space of said primary member defining with an end of said secondary member a second expansion chamber surrounding said projection, one of said members being formed with a channel providing communication between said first and second expansion chambers and having a cross-section substantially smaller than the volume of each chamber, said secondary member being formed with an inner axial cavity into which said projection extends while engaging an inner surface of said secondary member which defines said cavity, so that said projection defines with the interior cavity of said secondary member a third expansion chamber, one of said members being formed with a second channel of small crosssection as compared to the volume of said second chamber and as compared to the volume of said third expansion chamber and providing communication between said second and third expansion chambers, and said secondary member being formed at an outer end thereof which i situated at the region of the outer end of said hollow space of said primary member with a discharge opening communicating with said third expansion chamber and being of a small cross-section as compared to the crosssection of said third expansion chamber, so that after flowing through said third expansion chamber the fluid can fiow through said discharge opening of said secondary member to the outer atmosphere.

2. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said first chamber is of an annular configuration and coaxially surrounds said cavity of said secondary member while said second chamber is also of an annular configuration and is coaxial with said cavity and first chamber.

3. The combination of claim 2 and wherein said secondary member is stepped to provide said secondary member with the exterior surface space from the interior surface of said primary member to define said first expansion chamber.

4. The combination of claim 1 and wherein said channels which respectively provide communication between said first and second expansion chambers, on the one hand, and said second and third expansion chambers, on the other hand, are respectively situated at diametrically opposed sides of said projection.

5. The combination of claim 4 and wherein the channel which provides communication between the first and second expansion chambers is located at a part of said first and second chambers which is nearest to the opening which provides communication between the first chamber and the hollow interior of a valve stem received in said stem-receiving bore.

6. The combination of claim 1 and wherein both of said channels are elongated, parallel to each other, and parallel to the elongated cavity of said secondary memher, the latter cavity having a central axis which forms the axis of said secondary member as well as the axis of 3,129,893 4/1964 Green 239-337 3,416,737 12/1968 Venus 239579 EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 239-337, 579 

